Octavius Matthews of North Jackson High School is the player of the week.Player of the Week Honorable mention(Coaches are invited to nominate players by emailing Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com by 2 p.m. each Saturday.)Caleb Shiflett, Northwest Whitfield: He completed 17 of 23 passes with one interception for 427 yards and 4 TDs vs. Ridgeland.Kohl Henkie, Boyd-Buchanan: In addition to 10.5 tackles, he had a sack, an interception, a fumble recovery and a blocked punt vs. Sequatchie County.Cole Copeland, Bradley Central: He ran for 129 yards and a TD and completed 20 of 23 passes with no interceptions for 259 yards and three more scores vs. Walker Valley.
Octavius Matthews played just a half for North Jackson last week but still proved to be a record-setter as the Chiefs secured at least a tie for the Alabama Region 7-4A championship.
The senior had just nine carries but used them very well, rushing for 309 yards and six touchdowns in North Jackson's 62-14 win over Good Hope. He also scored a TD on a 53-yard punt return. The numbers, all accumulated in the first two quarters, were good enough to earn the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder Times Free Press Player of the Week honors.
"He's as good a back as I've had any where I've coached," Chiefs coach Mark Rose said. "To be honest it was the fourth game this year where he didn't play after the first half."
Matthews set a number of school records including single-game scoring, single-game rushing (a record he had set earlier this year with 281 yards), all-purpose yards and longest scoring run.
The longest rushing TD record became his when North Jackson held Good Hope at the Chiefs' 1-yard line with only a few seconds left in the half.
"The coaches asked me if I wanted to throw out of the end zone and I said, 'No. Let's call 6-counter wham because Octavius is fixing to go 99 yards.' He broke open and tight-roped down the sideline," Rose said.
North Jackson finished with 62 first-half points, another school record, and the first team never went back on the field - the reserves playing it out with 10-minute quarters and a running clock.
"That was a good team, a .500 club that had scored 49 and 63 points the previous two weeks," said Rose, whose team is leading all Alabama 4A teams with its 52.2 points per game average. "I'm really happy with the team effort."
It is a vast change from a year ago when the team scored 122 points in 10 games. This year's crew has scored almost 500 in nine.
Rose shared credit for Matthews' eye-opening performances with the rest of the team but knows that his prized running back deserves the lion's share.
"He and C.J. Cobb - I've known them since they were 5-6 years old. They've been great leaders for us and they're extremely hungry to win - never missed a workout - and they totally bought in. That's one of the reasons for the turnaround. I don't know how it's possible but these guys come back to practice more hungry than the week before," the coach said.
When he returned to the Chiefs, Rose had heard several things about Matthews and few of them were positive, but he has been delighted with Matthews' efforts.
"I've never gotten anything but 100 percent from him," Rose said. "He's been a great leader for us, and the sky is the limit as far as his future."
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.